Watchdog report: Ex-Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer oversaw hostile work
environment, misused funds
[September 05, 2026]
By JILL COLVIN
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer oversaw a
“toxic, intimidating and humiliating” work environment and engaged in
numerous violations of department policy, according to a new report from
the department’s Office of Inspector General.
The report alleges that Chavez-DeRemer “engaged in an inappropriate
relationship” with a member of her security detail and repeatedly
directed staff to perform personal tasks on government time. It also
accuses her of inappropriately combining personal and official travel,
violating the department’s alcohol policies, and failing to report gifts
through proper channels.
Based on interviews with dozens of current and former labor department
staffers and a review of more than 500 documents, images and videos, the
report includes several striking allegations.
During a personal trip to Oregon, it reports, Chavez-DeRemer allegedly
stopped at a strip club featuring partially nude dancers and directed
her limousine driver to come inside and give money to a performer,
despite his hesitation. She then “took additional money from her purse
and asked the agent to drop the bills one by one onto the partially nude
woman," despite his protests.
Chavez-DeRemer, who resigned earlier this year, could not immediately be
reached for comment.
She is also accused of repeatedly directing staff to perform personal
tasks during work hours. That included, at one point, directing her
personal aide and executive assistant to travel to her home and organize
her bedroom closet. After completing the task, they were asked to
provide a video documenting their work. The report includes a photo of
neatly hung, colorful blazers, alongside purses and shoes.
In other instances, it alleges, she sent staffers to her home to
retrieve packages from the mail room, instructed them to make personal
purchases that weren't always reimbursed, and directed a Hispanic
federal employee to communicate with Spanish-speaking workers, including
a house cleaner and movers.
The report alleges Chavez-DeRemer developed and maintained an
inappropriate and unprofessional relationship with a senior agent on her
security detail, documenting in extensive detail witness reports of her
massaging the agent's shoulder, the two golfing and gambling together,
and leaving an event walking arm-in-arm.
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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer listens as President
Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Oct. 16,
2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Investigators obtained electronic hotel door lock records that
suggested the two were spending time overnight in each other’s
rooms. And they obtained key fob records and video footage to
document his visits to her home.
The relationship, they said, “appeared to continue even after he was
placed on administrative leave and was suspended from his official
duties.”
The office also concluded that the former secretary and senior staff
consumed and stored alcohol on federal property without permission,
that she combined personal and official travel, including visits to
family, personal residences and Las Vegas. And it identified a
handful of gifts that were not reported, including tickets to attend
a rodeo, an alligator-hide wallet and cowboy hats.
The report also alleged that Chavez-DeRemer oversaw a hostile
workplace, with senior staff “routinely engaged in threatening,
demeaning, and abusive verbal and written communication” that she
was seemingly aware of but did not take action to stop.
Witnesses described the work environment as “toxic, intimidating and
humiliating," with staff accused of berating employees in front of
colleagues, openly discussing performance issues in the presence of
other staff, and frequently making threats of termination.
Senior staff were also accused of making staffing decisions based on
physical appearance instead of qualifications, including relocating
one employee’s desk because they did not want a “fat person” seen in
the front office.
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